Arpious of the Planes

She then quickly left the room.

I began to mull over whether I should continue to take care of her or just file a report to take her out of the competition.

I'll say something happened and use an illusion to change her into a sun drake.

"There is no way people will accept me marrying a siren anyway," I muttered.

…

(Arpious POV)

"I'm back…" I muttered tiredly as I stepped into the mansion where a maid took my sun hat and I removed my heels and put on a comfier pair of shoes.

"Oh, sweetie, it's time for dinner," A voice suddenly called out to me from down the hall and I saw the sun drake woman gesturing for me to come over.

I wonder what we're going to have today…

During dinner, we talked like normal but towards the end of the meal, the woman brought up something that made my ears perk up in excitement.

"Oh yeah, sweetie, we have a ball tomorrow, though it is really just a party. Plus, it is mainly used to scout the most beautiful men and women elves participating in the competition, so try to stand out as much as possible," The Miss said.

"Oh… are there going to be any nobles there?" I asked.

"Yes. Most nobles across the entire empire will be attending this party since it is very important in order to create connections and flaunt your pet that you will be submitting to the competition. Of course, I see you as my equal though instead of a pet," The Miss reassured me and she surprisingly seemed genuine.

"Alright… but why the late notice? Did you suddenly decide to change your mind?" I asked.

"Yes, I did suddenly change my mind. I was thinking of just keeping you home, but I think you should create some connections. It'll be good for the future,"

"As you wish Miss," I replied before we both got up and took a warm bath together where I gave her a massage and she then gave me one back.

She gave me an occasional kiss which I didn't find too bad since she's actually pretty good at it and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

After we finished our long bath, we then slathered all the things that needed to be on my body and face before letting it dry and then crawled into bed.

Just before we were about to fall asleep, the woman dragged my head into her chest before kissing the top of it and saying,

"Can I tell you something?"

"You can tell me whatever you want, Miss," I replied but she still seemed a bit hesitant.

"I… I…"

She continued to stutter and her indecisiveness was a bit annoying, though I already knew what she was going to say so it didn't matter much to me.

Probably going to say she likes me to where I'll reject her.

"I know you're of siren descent," She suddenly said and I jolted up, out of her grasp but her hand was tightly gripped around my wrist.

"When did you figure it out?" I immediately questioned her but to no surprise, she didn't answer and instead gave me a warm smile.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything. I won't expose you either," She said and her words actually seemed believable.

Is this the work of a skill? Is she influencing my mind again or are these genuine feelings that I can see her emitting towards me.

'I'm gonna be honest. I believe it is a mix of both where she is hiding a bit of influence underneath her genuine feelings. It's a sort of trap that is easy to fall for… oh yeah, did you even check her status?' My inner demon explains and then asks.

Of course, I have. I know she's using [Great Comforting Lights], but that doesn't explain her damn monstrous strength.

'Careful. She may be hiding her status with some type of item or skill… scan her body and see if you can find anything,'

But, no matter how long I looked over the woman's body, all I saw was her bare naked body and no item, meaning she was using a skill.

But, that wasn't possible because all the skills on her list don't show anything that can change her status… meaning her entire status is fake.

"Sweetie, it's fine. You can trust me," She said.

"Then stop using that skill and show me your real status," I said and she squinted a bit before sighing deeply.

"*sigh*... What a strong little siren I have here," She muttered with a warm smile but I didn't see her status changed in the slightest.

"Let go of me! Don't make me blow up this entire mansion!" I shouted in anger and the woman sighed once again before releasing the grasp around my wrist.

I immediately jumped off the bed and summoned Araes' dress around me before summoning my scythe and sword into my hands.

"Sweetie, if you come to work for me, I'll be sure to treat you better than that succubus scum. That mark on your chest is proof that you're her slave and I bet she's already done heinous things to you, so allow me to free you from that curse," She said with great conviction as if she was a hero declaring to kill the demon lord.

"No-"

But before I could finish my sentence, my inner demon cut me off by shouting,

'Wait! This is good! We can use them both for our benefit! We'll be a double agent! I doubt they could both see into each other's domains even with a mark on you, so you work freely within both empires,'

Hey, that idea is actually not that bad… Okay, I see where you are going.

But to make sure the conversation didn't go in the wrong direction, I made sure to try and look like I was still indecisive or even completely against the idea of working with her.

"What's the benefit in me working with you?" I asked her and she grits her teeth slightly before replying.

"We can take care of that bitch together…" She said and her warm smile this time was pretty creepy.

"If that's the benefit, then I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to leave. And if you won't let me, then I'll just push through until this entire place comes down in ashes,"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait… Fine, I'll grant you a position on the council of elders. There is no limit to the age for being on the council, you just need to be strong and from what I can see, you're very strong," She said.

"And what do I get for being on the council?" I asked though I already knew what my answer was going to be.

"You get authority, money, troops, and power. You receive tons of things, plus the protection of me personally," She responded.

The more she began to talk, the more I began to rethink my evaluation of her… as she was most likely way above a duchess.

The empress… maybe?

"I'll agree with your conditions but only under one more condition. You have to answer my question… are you the empress?" I asked and surprisingly, she responded with a firm,

"No. I am not the empress,"

"Tch… Fine then. I'll agree to join you but you better not betray me because even if I do die, I swear to god I'll come back to haunt you,"

"God? Nevermind that… It's a deal," She said and we both shook hands but just as she grabbed my hand, she pulled me back into her chest.

"Alright, then let's head to that party," I said.

"Well, we have to sleep first,"

"Oh yeah… I forgot about that,"

…

The next day, I asked the woman before me a firm request as I still had two more missions that I needed to complete.

Slay the one inheritor here and then of course bring the succubus back with me… wait, I could even possibly bring the empress back to help me once I claim my position as an elder on the council.

"Miss, the succubus queen gave me a mission to slay the first in line for inheritance within the throne. But, I was thinking you could help me have her disappear from the public eye instead of me killing her," I said and the woman stared at me for a bit.

"Oh, you want to kill Jen Soldrake, right?"

"Yes because if I go back and I haven't completed my mission, the Mistress will punish me greatly," I said.

"No need to call her Mistress… I swear I'll protect you,"

"Um… Okay, but can you help me?"

"Sure. I have no reason to decline as it is as simple as a clap of two hands. She'll be gone from the media by tomorrow,"

"Thanks… Also, may I ask what your name is?"

She gave me a long squint before finally opening her mouth.